4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Rhapsody]

Can anyone help cos my head is coming apart like a chocolate orange. Elder Son will be 17 soon and I want to get a car he can learn in and that I can drive around too, I'll have to trade my little Merc in because its a semi-automatic so no good for learning clutch control.

So I need a reliable little car insurance group 1 with at least a safety rating of 4. All the ones I've looked at so far have been thousands of pounds to insure. Anyone done this recently or got any bright ideas?

Thanks

[stoice]

I've always loved my 02 clio, Safety rating of 4. But now they have the new shape out which i think is even safer. Not too bad on price either. Fiat 500s are really funky too, but I don't know how small you'd like to go!

[craftyhunnypie]

Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 - £35 tax - not sure about insurance -but was low for me with Sheilas wheels.

 

Or a ford Ka?

 

I love my nippy little peugeot. It's black with a little spoiler. I reckon a young lad would love it!

 

Emma.x

[ClaireG]

I've got a Kia Picanto which i think would make an ideal learners car. It has a 4 star safety rating and is cheap to tax and insure.

[craftyhunnypie]

I like those kia picanto's!!!

 

Emma.x

[Lewis]

A few of my friends have Peugeot 107's.

They're meant to be cheap and easy to insure.

[Guest]

I have been told that a Ford Fiesta is cheap to insure and makes a good learner car.

 

DD2 is just starting, but we have a Rover 45 for her to drive. She seems to be managing though.

[Martin B]

I am driving a 2 year old Renault Clio, it was great for practising in, but the insurance is quite hight. About 1,750.

 

Martin

[furryelephant]

Insurance is scary cost for any young driver.. my friend paid out nearly £2000 to insure his Smart (Group 1 insurance!)... Have you thought of ringing an insurance company up and asking them what they insure cheaply?

 

Suggestions for a little car from me would be Fiat 500, Fiat Panda, Pug 107, Citroen C3, Toyota Aygo (although the last 3 are basically the same car!) and then maybe something like a Kia/Daewoo/Hyundai - not as pretty (IMO!!), but cheap and they give a good warranty with them to cover things going wrong.

 

It depends how small you want to go and how much you're willing to pay out to insure it...

 

Good luck!

 

Paula

[Jules.]

I am at the price of insurance for new drivers. Many (17) years ago I insured my little old Mini when I had first passed my test, & for 3rd party F&T I don't think it came to much more than £200.

[poachedegg]

ES passed his test October 08, he drives a W reg 1.0 Corsa - insurance is £1600 3rd party f & t. That was with Passplus too and was the cheapest, some quotes were far, far higher!

[Redwing]

I used to have a Renault Clio 1.5 Diesel, it was lovely and I miss it! at 115g/km CO2 its just £35 a year tax too, its been rated one of the most frugal engines on the market - I got 75 mpg out of mine on the motorway, I believe the safety rating was 4 or 5 stars too

 

the Mitsibishi Colt is a nice car mind

[Valkyrie]

Fiesta's are brilliant. 950cc engines go up mountains easy (cheaper insurance and a limit to the speed for lads who might get carried away)! And you can pack so much in. One point is that when we were looking I insisted on having 5 doors for passengers to escape - ever since my accident that is always my first thought. The second one is to get the windscreen wipers that are fixed for right hand drive. If they are for left hand side drivers as with Peugots, the rain is pushed onto the drivers side and can obscure your vision. My Honda pushes the rain to the passenger's side and I get good vision in heavy downpours.

[Valkyrie]

Thankies - it was when I had a Peugot as the hired replacement that we had that dreadful weather and I just couldn't see through the deluge - I had to brake until it had eased because the wipers were back to front. Lighter rain wasn't so bad - but it did splash it across my line of vision. I had no problem with the Honda during that wet spell the year before that - even did a bit of storm chasing in it.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I bought my daughter a four year old fiesta when she was learning to drive. That was 6 years ago and she still has it!

Her insurance was £1500 even then but that was fully comp.

I wanted her to build up her own NCB which is just as well as that same fiesta now costs her £200.

I think it's easier to insure girls. Young lads get hit with colossal premiums. When my nephew was learning in St Albans he couldn't get fully comp anywhere.

Best of luck.

[ChrisP]

Nissan Micra I drive one of these, 10 years old or so, 5 doors, 1.3 engine, and is so reliable and easy to use. Insurance is under £1000 3rd party F&T with me as the named driver (I'm 17) and my parents as add on drivers.

Love it, and would recommend it.

[Valkyrie]

Son's girlfriend has just bought one of those, been saving for years and got it just before her test so that she could get some practice time in - she loves it to bits. Reliable too. Japanese cars are usually very good.

It's no good, Rhapsody - you will just have to ask James!

[Karen & co.]

It's great to see what cars are being recommended My ES is 17 on 23rd May, but can't apply for his driving licence yet, as he has been having some 'lapses' where he can't remember doing things or what has been said in a lecture The Consultant is looking at a form of epilepsy, but fingers crossed he can apply for his licence when he has been seen again

 

I'll keep my eye on this thread to get ideas

 

Karen x

[ubereglu]

Definitely go for something with 5 doors-it's so much easier. It's why I dislike the car my sister's husband has! I prefer her Skoda Fabia, much better!

[Sunshine]

I drive an 03 Corsa. I only got it by chance as it was my couins car and he was off travelling for a year so my parents brought it for me (it was a bonus that i loved the colour!) I really like it-cheap for petrol, easy to drive, small(so i can at least try to park) and the insurance isn't too bad now i've got this morethan one where i can't drive between the hours of 11pm-6am. The insurace suits me down to the ground as when i'm babysitting i always have to be back so no late nights and it means i shouldn't have to get up much before 6 because i won't be able to drive anywhere!

 

I learnt in a Clio which i also liked however it was smaller so my brother and dad wouldn't like it as much. I also found the Corsa to be more forgiving so i don't have to give it as much gas apart from fisr thing when the engine is cold.

 

The only problem i have with the Corsa is that its a 3 door. It doesn't bother me but it bothers my passengers when no-one lets them in/out!

 

Emma

[Phonix]

We got a Suzuki Alto for me to learn to drive in because our 'family' car was a citroen picasso! Great little car for around town but my mum and dad traded it in for a Skoda Fabia cos the Alto was a little to small for my younger brothers long legs. He's learning to drive in the Fabia and has insurance with him as the 1st driver (i think) for £800 but seeing the prices on here maybe ha's not the first driver.

 

Anyway just thought id reccommend the car - its quite cheap to buy, cheap to run and my brother loves to drive it as he's tall and its a bit bigger than the tiny cars i love but give him cramp lol!

 

x

[Rhapsody]

Thanks everyone. I think we are going to go with a 3yo Peugeot 107 as it is cheap to run and insure, and more importantly comes with all-round airbags (we've been put off bangers for life since a collegue of OH's nearly died in a collision driving an old Saab) Quinn insurance have come up trumps too, for anyone else in the same boat.

Of course if my A-Class had a clutch pedal this would all be academic

[Seagazer]

Thanks everyone. I think we are going to go with a 3yo Peugeot 107 as it is cheap to run and insure, and more importantly comes with all-round airbags (we've been put off bangers for life since a collegue of OH's nearly died in a collision driving an old Saab) Quinn insurance have come up trumps too, for anyone else in the same boat.

Of course if my A-Class had a clutch pedal this would all be academic

 

Watch out for Quinn Insurance. I insured my son (17), DD (21) and myself on a 56 Corsa and it was 1200, but once my son passed his driving test it shot up to £2,300. I very quickly changed it to Direct Line which came in at about £1235.

[abwsco]

DON'T use Quinn!!! as Seagazer said they will bump up the cost as soon as he passes. DD's friends insurance tripled!

 

Churchill don't increase the premium when they pass but no doubt will be loaded for boys. DD's insurance dropped by 1/3rd after one year with Churchill and she was able to afford fully comp.

[Rhapsody]

I'm only going to go with Quinn until he passes his test (if I do) then change it. Thanks for the warning.